[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ElijahJones', 'I') have no doubt though that we are living in the times talked about in the Book of Revelation.

[Eli]

EJ

Yes I am very excited that Jesus is coming back and I agree that it will be sooner rather than later. It is a strange sort of excitement though, I realize the world is going to start to look a lot more like hell on earth than heaven before Christ returns. Things are going to get unbelievably bad on earth, the worse they have ever been save for our shared hope in Christ I think most people will give up to the point that they will wish they were dead.


Trying not to get too caught up in Revelation is a very good thing most of what is written there, God will reveal in his own time. I would say also if we see peace break out in the Middle East and a new leader come to the forefront out of country like Syria then time is getting very short.

Jesus gives us very good advice about the time of the end he basically says you will know for sure when the end is coming

"15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) "

When we see this we will know without a doubt that he is coming back soon.
But the point is to live our lives like Jesus is coming back at any moment. Whether Christ comes back tomorrow or in a thousand years it really makes no difference because we know we are his forever.

Love and peace to you in Christ
Eli

[firestarter]

EJ,


Keep in mind that there's more eschatological views out there than dispensational premillenialism:



Dr. Greg Bahnsen's postmillenial thoughts

Views from a postmill skeptic


Perhaps end time theology isn't as cut and dry as you might think.

[firestarter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ElijahJones', ' ') I tend to be a mid-trib rapture guy. But I am aware that alot of Christians no longer believe in the rapture or the Book of Revelation.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ElijahJones', 'I') don't need to ellaborate on how ridiculous that would be withouth exceptional evidence corroborating the claim.

[nazman]

ah yes, but you forget 1, Septintians:

Hail Satan, and glory to all his works.

[rogerhb]

So what is it that makes Christianity the one and only religion (and of course which version or dogma to follow) when there are so many other religions to choose from?

Did you weigh up the pros and cons of each religion, see which matched your view of the world and which explained most plausibly the things you saw?

[NEOPO]

heheheh ok I want to play too!!!

Behold!!!!

AND on the seventh day there went forth from the presence of God a mighty angel, full of wrath and consuming, and God gave unto him the dominion of the outermost sphere.

2. Eternity brought forth time; the boundless gave birth to limit; being descended into generation.

3. As lightning I beheld Satan fall from heaven, splendid in strength and fury.

4. Among the Gods is none like unto Him, into whose hand are committed the kingdoms, the power and the glory of the worlds:

5. Thrones and empires, the dynasties of kings, the fall of nations, the birth of churches, the triumphs of time.

6. They arise and pass, they were and are not; the sea and the dust and the immense mystery of space devour them.

7. The tramp of armies, the voices of joy and of pain, the cry of the new-born babe, the shout of the warrior mortally smitten.

8. Marriage, divorce, division, violent deaths, martyrdoms, tyrannous ignorances, the impotence of passionate protest, and the mad longing for oblivion:

9. The eyes of the tiger in the jungle, the fang of the snake, the fœtor of slaughter-houses, the wail of innocent beasts in pain:

10. The innumerable incarnations of spirit, the strife towards manhood, the ceaseless pulse and current of desire:--

11. These are his who beareth all the Gods on his shoulders;[V] who establisheth the pillars of necessity and fate.

12. Many names hath God given him, names of mystery, secret and terrible.

13. God called him Satan the Adversary, because matter opposeth spirit, and time accuseth even the saints of the Lord.

14. And the Destroyer, for his arm breaketh and grindeth to pieces; wherefore the fear and the dread of him are upon all flesh.

15. And the Avenger, for he is the anger of God; his breath shall burn up all the souls of the wicked.

16. And the Sifter, for he straineth all things through his sieve, dividing the husk from the grain; discovering the thoughts of the heart; proving and purifying the spirit of man.

17. And the Deceiver, for he maketh the false appear true, and concealeth the real under the mask of illusion.

18. And the Tempter, for he setteth snares before the feet of the elect: he beguileth with vain shows, and seduceth with enchantments.

19. Blessed are they who withstand his subtlety: they shall be called the Sons of God, and shall enter in at the beautiful gates.

20. For Satan is the doorkeeper of the temple of the King: he standeth in Solomon's porch; he holdeth. the keys of the sanctuary;

21. That no man may enter therein save the Anointed, having the arcanum of Hermes.

22. For Satan is the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom.

23. He is the devourer of the unwise and the evil: they shall all be meat and drink to him.

24. Whatsoever he devoureth, that shall never more return into being.

25. Fear him, for after he hath killed, he hath power to cast into hell.

26. But he is the servant of the Sons of God, and of the children of light.

27. They shall go before him, and he shall follow the steps of the wise.

28. Stand in awe of him and sin not: speak his name with trembling; and beseech God daily to deliver thee.

29. For Satan is the magistrate of the justice of God: he beareth the balance and the sword,

30. To execute judgment and vengeance upon all who come short of the commandments of God; to weigh their works, to measure their desire, and to number their days,

31. For to him are committed weight and measure and number.

32. And all things must pass under the rod and through the balance, and be fathomed by the sounding-lead.

33. Therefore Satan is the minister of God, Lord of the seven mansions of Hades, the angel of the manifest worlds.

34. And God hath put a girdle about his loins, and the name of the girdle is Death.

35. Threefold are its coils, for threefold is the power of Death, dissolving the body, the ghost, and the soul.

36. And that girdle is black within, but where Phoibos strikes it is silver.

37. None of the Gods is girt save Satan, for upon him only is the shame of generation.

38. He hath lost his virginal estate: uncovering heavenly secrets, he hath entered into bondage.

39. He encompasseth with bonds and limits all things which are made: he putteth chains round about the worlds, and determineth their orbits.

40. By him are creation and appearance; by him birth and transformation; the day of begetting and the night of death.

41. The glory of Satan is the shadow of the Lord: the throne of Satan is the footstool of Adonai.

42. Twain are the armies of God: in heaven the hosts of Michael; in the abyss the legions of Satan.

43. These are the unmanifest and the manifest; the free and the bound; the virginal and the fallen.

44. And both are the ministers of the Father, fulfilling the word divine.

45. The legions of Satan are the creative emanations, having the shapes of dragons, of Titans, and of elemental gods;

46. Forsaking the intelligible world, 1 seeking manifestation, renouncing their first estate;

47. Which were cast out into chaos, neither was their place found any more in heaven.

48. Evil is the result of limitation, and Satan is the Lord of limit.

49. He is the father of lies, because matter is the cause of illusion.

50. To understand the secret of the kingdom of God, and to read the riddle of Maya, this is to have Satan under foot.

51. He only can put Satan under foot who is released by thought from the bonds of desire.

52. Nature is the allegory of spirit: all that appeareth to the sense is deceit: to know the truth,--this alone shall make men free.

53. For the kingdom of Satan is the house of matter: yea, his mansion is the sepulchre of Golgotha, wherein on the seventh day the Lord lay sleeping, keeping the Sabbath of the unmanifest.

54. For the day of Satan is the night of spirit: the manifestation of the worlds of form is the rest of the worlds informulate.

55. Holy and venerable is the Sabbath of God: blessed and sanctified is the name of the angel of Hades;

56. Whom the Anointed shall overcome, rising again from the dead on the first day of the week.

57. For the place of Satan is the bourne of divine impulsion: there is the arrest of the outgoing force; Luza, the station of pause and slumber:

58. Where Jacob lay down and dreamed, beholding the ladder which reached from earth to heaven.

59. For Jacob is the planetary angel Iacchos, the Lord of the body;

60. Who hath left his father's house, and is gone out into a far country.

61. Yet is Luza none other than Bethel; the kingdom of Satan is become the kingdom of God and of His Christ.

62. For there the Anointed awakeneth, arising from sleep, and goeth his way rejoicing;

63. Having seen the vision of God, and beheld the secret of Satan;

64. Even as the Lord arose from the dead and brake the seal of the sepulchre;[V]

65. Which is the portal of heaven, Luza, the house of separation, the place of stony sleep;

66. Where is born the centripetal force, drawing the soul upward and inward to God;

67. Recalling Existence into Being, resuming the kingdoms of matter in spirit;[W]

68. Until Satan return unto his first estate, and enter again into the heavenly obedience;

69. Having fulfilled the will of the Father, and accomplished his holy ministry,

70. Which was ordained of God before the worlds, for the splendour of the manifest, and for the generation of Christ our Lord;[X]

71. Who shall judge the quick and the dead, putting all things under his feet; whose are the dominion, the power, the glory, and the Amen.[A]

and....

Pitch Black - Riddick: "Think someone could spend half their life in a slam with a horse bit in their mouth and not believe? Think he could start out in some liquor store trash bin with an umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and not believe? Got it all wrong, holy man. I absolutely believe in God... And I absolutely hate the fucker."

All is Maya - All is illusion - All is matrix
O Lanoo - a second to see - an eternity to believe

[lateralus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NEOPO', '
')Pitch Black - Riddick: Got it all wrong, holy man. I absolutely believe in God... And I absolutely hate the fucker."

[NEOPO]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rogerhb', 'S')o what is it that makes Christianity the one and only religion (and of course which version or dogma to follow) when there are so many other religions to choose from?

Did you weigh up the pros and cons of each religion, see which matched your view of the world and which explained most plausibly the things you saw?

[lateralus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ElijahJones', 'I')dle hands are the devil's playground.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ElijahJones', 'P')hilosophically all religion has only two parts, an axiomatic part and a humanist part.

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ElijahJones', '
')And BTW, it was not God who did to you whatever hurt you cling to, it was other people listening to the worst that is in them, and inspired by the worst that is without them.